Chinese dissident Chen to meet with Boehner, Pelosi

7/30/12 6:05 PM EDT

Blind Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng will be on the Hill Wednesday to meet with House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio), Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other members of Congress.

They’ll briefly address reporters after the meeting.

In the spring, lawmakers had called on the Obama administration to broker a deal with China to allow Chen to come study in the U.S. He’d captured the attention of the nation after a harrowing escape from eight years of house arrest in China to the U.S. Embassy. Negotiations between the U.S. and China eventually allowed Chen to study at NYU.

Chen, a self-taught lawyer, fought human rights abuses in China and has been outspoken against China’s “one child” policy. He was arrested in 2006 after filing a lawsuit that alleged the government was performing forced abortions and sterilizations.